Clip



Patented `June 9, 1931 UNE CLAIDE A. BULKELEY, OF KENMORE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR- TO c tenaien- NIAGARA BLOWER CLIP Application filed August 5, 1930. Serial No. 473,147.

' This invention relates to a'clip andmore' particularly to a clip which is adapted to be applied to the edgeof a hide or the like and to be caught in a stretching frame of the general type shown in my co-pending application, Serial No. v473,146tiled of even date herewith.

In such a frame the hide `is supported on asheet metal face plate having its entire face provided with a Vseries of perforations, by a plurality of clips embodying the present invention,`these clips gripping the edges of the hideand each clip having means to catch the clip in one of the Vperforations so that the hide can be held taut from the sheet metal faceplate.

The principal object of this invention isto provide a spring connection between i that portion of the clip which Vgrips the hide and that portion of the clip which is hooked intoy the perforated plate and which also carries the finger piece or handle my means of which the hide is drawn taut. By the provision of suchVv a spring between these elements the danger' of tearing the hide is practically eliminated since should the operator exert too much force in drawing the hide taut the spring will yield and prevent tearing ofthe hide. Furthermore, after the hidehas been stretched onv the frame by means of clips embodying the present inventionthe shrinkage of the hide while drying will not tear the hide at its places of connection with the clips because of the spring being interposed be# tween the hide gripping member and the memberwhichisfsecured tothe sheet metal face plate of the frame.

` A further object is to provide such a clip which can be manipulated entirely .with one hand and can be quickly and easily .used in either stretching the hide'in place upon a stretching'frame or in removing it therefrom.

Astill further o bject is to provide such a clip which reliably grips the hide and also is vreliably held in position on the stretching frame so that there is no danger Yof the hide becoming loose, especially .as it, shrinks and it's tension upon the clips increases. l p

Other purposes are to providesuch a clip which is of simple and inexpensive constrll@7 tion, which is durable and is reliable in operation and willnot get out of order under severe and constant use. VIn the accompanying drawings: Y

Fig. l is a side elevation Vof a clip embodying thefpresent invention,'showing the same holding a hide or the like upon a stretching frame. u l 'v Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section takenon line 3 3, Fig. 2; y i f Fig. L is a transverse section taken on line 4-4,Fig. l.V n

Similar characters of reference vindicate like parts in each ofthe several figures of the drawings.

rllhe frame in connection with which the present invention is adapted to 4be used can be of any usual and well known construction, the stretching frame which I prefer for this purpose forming the subject matter of my co-pending'- application, Ser. No. 4 73,146, filed Aug.` 5, 1980." Ingenerah such a frame `consists of aV sheet metal face' plate'v 5 which is reinforced atlits edges by angle irons `6 which can be secured by means of rivets 7 or in anyother suitable manner. Substantiallythe entire surface of the face plate is perforated to provide holes 8, these.

holes being of comparativelyk small size and large in number so `that when the hide 9 is gripped atl its'. edges by the clip. embodying the present 4 invention the clipcan be caught in any one of the; adjacent holes 8 in the face plate 5 land hold the hide 9 taut.

Theclip in general comprises agripping part which is adapted to grip the hide and lis indicated 'generally i at l0 and asecond part,""indicatedgenerally at A1l, which is slidablysecured to the gripping partand is formed with the finger forengaging the holes 8 in the face plate andlalsofwith a handle by which Vthe operator can pull the gripped hide taut. A spring is interposed between these parts. f v

The part l0 whichis adaptedto grip the hide is made of sheet metal and consistsof a tongue-l2 having a reverselypformed lip 13 at its front end and wings 14 at the opposite af ,its frontend whiehzwnss es@ 4 opposite sides of the tongue. The wings 14 are each indented as indicated at 15 to receive the edge of the leather hide 9 and the reversely formed lip 13 forms a lower jaw for gripping the edge of this hide. The upper jaw 16 is movable and consists of a reversely formed cam portion 17 which is milled or roughened on its underside and a handle 18 which extendsrearwardly. The upper jaw is pivoted to the sidejwings-14 aspindicatedratl, this pivoted being located so that the cam portion 17 swings underneath the pivotal connection. The cam portion 17 is so formed that upon downward movement of the handle 18 the cam portion 17 is brought against the lower jaw or reversely formed portion 13, the cam portion 17 traveling forwardly in this movement. Itis apparent that With this form of cam portion 17the tension of'th'e hide tends to draw the cam portion 17 into firmerV engagement with the hide so that increased tension ofthe hide instead of tending to pull the hide free from the clip tends to draw its jaws more firmly in engagement therewith.

The member 11 includes a lower horizontal portion 20 upon which the tongue 12 slides longitudinally and to guide the tongue 12 in its sliding movement the` lower part 20 is formed to provide two pairs of lips 21 which engage over the opposite side edges of the tongueA 12 and hold the tongue 12 against displacement. At its rear end the lower part 20 is bent upwardly and is formed to provide a handle 22 whichv can be of any suitable form to permit of the clip being readily grasped by the finger of the operator. The lower part 20` in which the tongue 12 v slides also has struck downwardly therefrom a reversely formednger 24, this finger being` of suiiiciently small size so that it can enter any of the holes 8 in the sheet metal face plate of thestretohing frame.

Ifnterposed between the members 10 and 11 is ay helical tension` spring 25. This spring is securedj to the member 10 by means of a pin 26 which is carried byand extends between the wings 1Y4fofthe part l0-and at its rear end thisspring is secured toa lip V27 which is struck forwardly from the'handle 22 ofthe part 11. VThis spring when embodied in a clip for stretching hides preferably begins to open up. at' about fifteen pounds'- and it will therefore beapparent that if the operator pulls upon the handle 22 in excessof this pressure in lstretching the hide the spring will give, and the excess pressurewill not be exerted upon the edge of the hide 9 which is held between the jaws 17 kand 13 of the part 10. It is also apparent that the. hide is stretched and thefinger 24 of each clip caught in one of the holes 8'of the sheet'metal face plate 5.V Should the'shrinkage of the hide ex- .Ceed the tensionvof lany one vof the springs 25, the spring-'25V will yield permitting thejaws 17 and 13 and tongue 12 to be moved under this tension and thereby avoid tearing the hide.

In applying clips embodying the present invention the operator lifts the handle 18 which moves the roughened cam portion 17 away from the lower jaw 13 and thereby permits the edge of the hide 9 to be inserted between the jaw 18v and the cam portion 17, as indicated in Fig. 1. The operator then pressesV theA handle 18 downwardly which moves the roughened cam portion 17 downwardly and forwardly and compresses the edge of the hide between the cam portion 17 and the lower jaw 13. Since any tension upon the hide 9 will tend to draw the cam portion 17 into firmer engagement with its margin the hide is reliably and firmly secured. between the aws 17 and 13 and will not become loose. The operator through the handle 22 then dra-ws each of the clips outwardly so as to draw the hide 9 taut upon the perforated plate 5. In doing so he catches the hook 24 of each of the clips in the properopening 8 to hold the hide in this taut condition u on the perforated face plate. Itis apparent t at if he exerts too much pressure, that is in excess of about fifteen pounds, the springl 25 will give and thereby avoid tearing of the hide. If after the hide is stretched in position on the perforated plate 5 its tension in shrinking becomes excessive, the springs 25 will again yield, permit the clip to expand and again avoid tearing of the hide.

Another further decided advantage in this clipv is that by this automatic spring tension being maintained at all times on the hide while it is drying, more tension can safely be put on the hide at the time it is stretched, i

and all the tension which the hide will safely stand is maintained at all times during its drying. This maintenance of a maximum tension on the hide results in an increase of footage per hide since eachv hide is stretched its maximum extent.

. In clips heretofore designed without spring tension operators put` very little tension on the green hide sinceif they did the shrinkage would have been liable to cause tearing. Vith the presentv cli/p a maximum of allowable tension, of say fifteen pounds, is put on each clip at thev startand if the hide shrinks the spring gives, allowing for shrinkage of the hide without tearing. Y In actual practice, by using a spring-tension scale in conjunction with clips as heretofore designed for this purpose itwas found that many clips had a tension on the hide at the start before drying of only four to five poundsv and some ofthem having as high astwenty to twenty-five pounds. After the hide was dried the tension' varied all the wayY from nothing to as high as forty-seven pounds, this being due, ofcourse, to the fact that there was no give to these clips. Ithas been found that it is very easy for an operalli) lli

tor to tell when the spring begins to give, or in other words when he has the required tension on the hide, for he can feel the spring give. Thus he automatically places the correct tension of say fifteen pounds on each hide.

From the foregoing it is apparent that the present invention provides a clip for this purpose which is'very simple and inexpensive, easily manipulated, durable and will not get out of order under constant use, at the same time the spring means provided in the clip prevent tearing of the hide either while it is being drawn taut or when it shrinks in drying, insures the maximum tension being maintained on the hide during drying thereby providing for increased footage of the hide, and insures an even tension being maintained ron the hide all around.

l claim as my invention:

l. A fastener for holding hides or the like in a stretched condition on a frame, comprising a part having a handle and being adapted to be removably secured to said fra1ne,a second part adapted to be removably secured to said hide and spring tension means between said parts.

2. A fastener for holding hides or the like in a stretched condition on a frame, comprising two parts and spring tension means connecting said parts, one of said parts including a pair of jaws adapted to be applied to said hide and the other part including a handle and a hook on its underside, said hook being adapted to be engaged with said frame.

3. A fastener for holding hides or the like in a stretched condition on a frame, vcomprising a part having a lower flat portion adapted to be secured to said frame, a handle and reversely formed lips at the sides of said lower flat portion, a. second part having a tongue slidably received between the lips of said first part and having means for gripping the edges of said hide and a spring connecting said parts and yieldingly holding said parts together.

4. A fastener for holding hides or the like vin a stretched condition on a frame, com-- prising a part having a lower flat portion having a depending finger by which it is adapted to be secured to said frame, a handle and reversely formed lips at the sides of said lower flat portion, .a second part including a tongue slidably received between the said lips of said first part and formed at its front end to provide a reversely formed lower jaw and upstanding side wings and a movable jaw pivoted between said upstanding wings and movable toward said lower jaw to grip area, comprising a part having a lower flat y portion having a depending finger adapted to be caught in one of said holes, a handle rising from the rear end of said lower flat portion and reversely formed lips at the sides of said lower iat portion, a second part including a tongue slidably secured between the said lips of said lirst-part and formed to provide a reversely formed lower jaw at its front end and vupstanding side wings, a movable kjaw pivoted between said wings and having a rearwardly extending handle upon the dei signature.

CLAUDE A. BULKELEY.

the edge of the hide therebetween and spring tension means tending to draw said parts together.

5. A fastener for holding hides or the like in a stretched condition on a frame having a plurality of holes in substantially its entire lid il L) 

